Air quality monitoring station in twin cities defunct after a month

Hubballi: About 8 months ago, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) began construction of an Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) station in Lingaraj Nagar Hubballi. Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) allocated the 20ftx20ft garden space despite opposition from nearby residents.
The garden has now been abandoned without proper maintenance, and the AQM station's finishing work is still pending. The irony is that the AQM displayed the air quality for a month but is now defunct because authorities allegedly did not pay the Rs 42,000 electricity bill for two months.
R Rajendran Iyer, a marketing professional in Lingaraj Nagar, said that the government built the AQM with public funds. “However, the AQM station is no longer operational because Hubballi Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) disconnected the power supply for failure to pay the bill. On June 4, the unit will be painted. However, the garden, which has become shabby as a result of construction activities, is still crying for attention,” he said.
Mallikaurjun Narendramath, an advocate at the nearby Shubha Bhoomi Apartment, stated that HDMC never took citizens into consideration when allocating space for the AQM station. “Because other residents objected, it was forcibly installed in this small garden. When challenged, HDMC commissioner Suresh Itnal promised a public consultation meeting. But it never took place. HDMC and KSPC continued construction work, and the AQM station operated on a trial basis for a month. We don't know what went wrong because the AQM station has been down for almost two months,” he said.
The unit was installed as part of the Union government's 'Clean Air' initiative to get a clear picture of the air quality.
When contacted, HDMC Commissioner Dr Gopal Krishna B stated that the space for the AQM station was provided at the request of the Dharwad deputy commissioner. “KSPCB is in charge of construction and maintenance. We will notify KSPCB as soon as possible,” he said.